


Fermi the Faerie

by Haberdasher



Category: Original Work
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, Fae & Fairies, Fairies, Gen, Inspired By Tumblr, Magic, Magic and Science, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2019-11-07
Packaged: 2021-01-24 16:07:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21340984
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Haberdasher/pseuds/Haberdasher
Summary: A ficlet about a faerie OC of mine, inspired by the faerie lore of a-rae-of-sunshine on tumblr.Specific posts of inspiration:https://a-rae-of-sunshine.tumblr.com/post/188261428521/https://a-rae-of-sunshine.tumblr.com/post/188412284439/
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5





	Fermi the Faerie

Fermi is an unusual name for a faerie to go by, but it makes a lot more sense once you know that their circle of residence is located in the lab of the same name.

It’s funny, in a way, how the humans who put so much thought into the details of their particle accelerator never realized that the cooling water above it would make an ideal faerie circle... and while there are a great deal of eyes focused on the accelerator itself, the water and land above it rarely gets more than a passing glance.

The inside of the circle is surprisingly natural, too, more so than most of Fermilab’s surroundings, where suburbia has covered the plains that nature provided in dense layers of concrete and asphalt. There are clusters of trees to be found there, and several kinds of flowers, and tall wild grasses galore. One of the facility’s guiding philosophies was that it shouldn’t look like a sterile laboratory, should preserve the environment rather than destroy it, invite native wildlife to reside among the buildings housing incredibly high-tech machines, and Fermi is living proof that they followed through on that promise.

From a great distance, Fermi might be mistaken for one of Fermilab’s human researchers, complete with scientific-looking lab coat, which was a gift to Fermi from one of the scientists that works there, one she treasures greatly and never takes off.

A closer look, however, would make it clear that Fermi is far from human.

For one thing, humans generally wear something _under_ their lab coats. Fermi doesn’t, as a rule. She does wear things over it as often as not, including a wide variety of belts gotten from trades with humans, often worn two or three at a time and in positions that most humans would consider atypical at best, but never anything underneath. Fermi also generally goes without the winter weather gear that humans require during the frigid Illinois winters--no gloves, no socks or shoes, and no hats more substantial than a flower crown, though human-traded scarves are accepted and worn on a case-by-case basis.

For another thing, humans don’t have such big sharp teeth, or such wide reflective eyes, or such long claws at the end of their hands.

For yet another thing, what might during some seasons be briefly mistaken for a human skin tone resembling that of the half-dead grasses within the circle is, in fact, just a collection of those grasses tightly bundled into a humanoid form. The difference between Fermi’s body and any human skin tone is clear enough in the spring and summer even at a glance. She does have something that somewhat resembles human hair, but in reality it’s just more prairie grass bundled less tightly than the rest, left to hang from her head down to her waist and flow to and fro as the wind blows.

Like so many living and working nearby, what Fermi wants most out of life is knowledge. She may have been born already knowing the basics, but she loves learning new things and exploring the limits of what she already knows, which has endeared her to a number of Fermilab’s resident scientists. While she trades physical things on occasion, trading knowledge is much preferred when she can make it work.

Fermi’s True Name isn’t Fermi, of course. That’s just a moniker she’s taken on as a handy go-to description when speaking with humans. She tried the more traditional-sounding named of Pond (there’s one near the center of her circle) and Leaf (plenty to be found in the area) at first, but the handful of humans that she interacted with dubbed her Fermi, after the lab which encompasses her residence, and the name stuck.

Fermi’s True Name, however, is Sun. Big and bright and enlightening... that’s what Fermi wants to be, too.


End file.
